300 per cent m-commerce market growth predicted

Monday, November 5, 2012 - 13:13 by Simon Crisp

The use of smartphones and tablets to carry out safe shopping online is already growing significantly in the UK, but between 2012 and 2015, it is predicted that the market will expand by at least 300 per cent globally, with western countries making the biggest impact.

This is according to a report published by Tapjoy, in which it was found that there is greater enthusiasm for m-commerce than ever amongst the ranks of average consumers.

Fifty four per cent of those questioned in the study said that they had used an m-commerce service at some point in the past six months, with 64 per cent committing to the use of portable devices in the run-up to Christmas.

This suggests that more people have adopted smartphones and tablets in 2012 and that they will now be using them to conduct safe shopping online ahead of Christmas, rather than turning to desktop or laptop computers.

Smartphone owners who do have shopping apps installed on their devices are the most likely to use m-commerce services, with average usage of these apps hitting 17 times a month, according to the report.

This should help to show retailers that creating a mobile optimised platform for their services is going to be increasingly valuable, since audiences are turning to these devices to direct their shopping experiences.

Fifty one per cent of smartphone shoppers said that they used them to find coupons and voucher codes to get discounts, while 61 per cent said that they preferred to compare prices of items across multiple retailers, via a portable device.

There are plenty of different retail-related uses for smartphones and tablets, which is why consumers are turning to them in larger numbers and why those in charge of shops need to adapt to their increasing influence.